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Adding Pounds May Take Away Years: Helping Employees Face the Reality

By: Kristen Kraczkowsky, Program Associate, Center for Prevention & Health Services

Even a few extra pounds increase the risk of dying prematurely according to a recent study of half a million U.S adults - most of them baby boomers. Even those who reported being only modestly overweight and who never smoked are at risk of early death. In fact, people who are overweight increase their risk of dying prematurely by 20 percent to 40 percent; those who are obese are two to three times more likely to die young. (1).

Overweight and Obesity Prevalence

The ranks of overweight and obese individuals in the United States continue to swell. About 64.5 percent of U.S. adults 20 and older are overweight and 30.5 percent are obese. One study found that overweight and obesity costs the United States $92.6 billion (in 2002 dollars) in annual medical costs, equaling 9.1 percent of the total health care budget. (2). This percentage is comparable to the medical costs related to smoking which ranges from 6.5 percent to14.4 percent. (2).

Cost of Overweight and Obesity

An overweight and obese workforce corresponds with increased direct and indirect costs. Obese employees are more likely to be absent from work than non-obese employees. One study found that obese men lost an average of 2.7 more days of work per year than non-obese men. (3) Obese women lost an average of 5.1 more days of work per year than their non-obese counterparts. (4)

Recommendations for Employers

Employers can take action to develop strategies and programs that address the issue of overweight and obesity. Following are a number of suggestions.

  1. Communicate the benefits that accompany a healthier lifestyle. It's the rare employee who doesn't want to sleep better, lower stress levels, and lead the healthiest possible life. Focus on providing a fresh perspective that's more about adopting healthy, holistic, sustainable behaviors and less about participating in short-lived programs and campaigns.
  2. Offer weight management or nutritional counseling programs to employees and dependents. Work with health plans to cover professionally led programs under the benefit or at minimal cost to remove financial barriers. Offering these programs on site during the day or right after work may help increase participation levels.
  3. Provide employees with healthy food choices in cafeterias, vending machines, and catered meals. Featuring healthy food choices and appropriate portions encourages employees to make better decisions when choosing meals and snacks. Employers may want to consider subsidizing healthy options to further encourage behavior change.
  4. Offer incentives to employees who participate in healthy weight or fitness programs. Incentives have proven successful in encouraging employees to participate in health promotion and well-being activities.
  5. Involve employees in healthy weight initiatives right from the start. Form employee focus groups or committees around health and wellness and weight-loss programs. Employees provide valuable feedback about which programs are likely to meet with success.
1. Adams KF, Schatzkin A, Harris TB, Kipnis V, Mouw T, Ballard-Barbash R, et al. Overweight, Obesity, and Mortality in a Large Prospective Cohort of Persons 50 to 71 Years Old. N Engl J Med 2006:NEJMoa055643.
2. Finkelstein EA, Fiebelkorn IC, Wang G. National medical spending attributable to overweight and obesity: how much, and who's paying? Health Aff (Millwood) 2003;Suppl Web Exclusives:W3-219-26.
3. Thompson D, Edelsberg J, Kinsey KL, Oster G. Estimated economic costs of obesity to U.S. business. Am J Health Promot 1998;13(2):120-7.

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